Local News KNRS

Cedar City Residents File Suit Against Uncle Sam

Legal battle lines are being drawn this week, between the federal government and a group of Cedar City residents.

The fight is over Utah prairie dogs.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is in charge of protecting the animals.

But residents in southern Utah say the prairie dogs are destroying their lawns and community parks and cemetaries.

With help from a property rights protection organization -- "Pacific Legal Foundation" -- the Utahns filed legal action this week. They question whether the federal government has the right to force residents to protect the animals, even as they destroy private property.